Chapter Summaries

Song Tianyao discussed Japan’s prosperity and planned to attend a business seminar, then offered Luo Zhuankun a chance to study financial markets in London and New York. The chapter ended when Song heard a drunken man harassing Wei Meixian and Scribe Hui and rushed out of the hot spring.

• Song Tianyao told Wei Meixian he wanted to attend a business management seminar in Hakone Town and learn about differences between Japanese, American, and Hong Kong business practices.
• Song Tianyao offered Luo Zhuankun two years and funding to study the financial markets in London and New York, while advising him to keep a low profile and wait for an opportunity in Hong Kong.
• Nine-Tattooed Dragon complained about the geisha performance and watched the maid attending to Song Tianyao.
• Two black men in camouflage uniforms blocked Wei Meixian and Scribe Hui and drunkenly harassed Wei Meixian.
• Song Tianyao recognized the drunken man’s voice, leaped out of the hot spring, and went to confront the situation.

Song Tianyao confronted American servicemen who tried to seize a maid, then admitted he had been too afraid to declare himself Chinese in Japan. In Hong Kong, Lu Wenjin warned Lu Wenhui that the Lu Family must avoid appearing to side with Song Tianyao while he prepares to represent Lin Yujing in court.

• Song Tianyao claimed British identity to deter an American serviceman from taking Wei Meixian, and another soldier pulled his companion away.
• The Black serviceman seized a maid and dragged her off despite Song Tianyao's warning, while Song refused Nine-Tattooed Dragon's offer to rescue her.
• Song Tianyao told Scribe Hui he felt ashamed for not openly identifying himself as Chinese on Japanese soil.
• Lu Wenhui asked Lu Wenjin why he was concerned about Song Tianyao leaving the Soda Factory to Peiying and Ah Sin.
• Lu Wenjin explained that the Soda Factory's profits were unimportant, but Ah Sin taking it over would make the Lu Family look aligned with Song Tianyao as Lu Wenjin prepared to represent Lin Yujing.

Song Tianyao attended a business seminar in Hakone with Scribe Hui and Wei Meixian, then paid to meet its keynote speaker, Xinmin Baohachi. The chapter also showed Lu Wenjin arranging a strategy around the Soda Factory and Yan Hung managing the Heavenly Palace Nightclub as he awaited Brother Lok.

• Lu Wenjin told Lu Wenhui to seek the release of the Soda Factory workers and keep the Lu Family out of buying the factory.
• Lu Wenjin said Song Tianyao would raise money to buy the Soda Factory and leave Angie Pellis vulnerable to a lawsuit over her treatment of Chinese workers.
• Lai Man-yau asked Yan Hung to arrange a private talk with Headless, and Yan Hung agreed.
• Yan Hung learned that Brother Lok from Sai Kung had come to support him at the Heavenly Palace Nightclub.
• Song Tianyao attended the Hakone business seminar with Scribe Hui and Wei Meixian, then paid eighteen thousand yen to dine with Xinmin Baohachi.

Song Tianyao discussed business ethics with Japanese economist Xinmin Baohachi and proposed a low-cost department store supported by local factories and community investment. Afterward, Scribe Hui challenged Song over helping Japanese workers, and Song defended his plans despite admitting he hated Japan too.

• Song Tianyao praised Xinmin Baohachi’s business ethics and asked why Japanese merchants ignored his ideas.
• Xinmin Baohachi explained that widespread credit sales trapped small merchants and customers in a cycle of rising prices and unpaid debts.
• Song Tianyao proposed opening an affordable department store in less developed regions, producing goods locally, hiring residents, and supporting schools and hospitals.
• Xinmin Baohachi encouraged Song Tianyao’s plan and agreed to recommend information about less prosperous regions in Japan.
• Scribe Hui confronted Song Tianyao about building factories and employing Japanese workers, citing his brother’s death in forced labor.
• Song Tianyao said he hated the Japanese too but argued that killing people would not avenge the Chinese who had died.

Song Tianyao explained his plan to exploit Japanese factories while concealing his involvement, then outlined how discount supermarkets could attract ordinary shoppers and undercut small grocery stores in Japan. He left Scribe Hui and Wei Meixian with instructions to keep the business low-key and hire Japanese workers.

• Song Tianyao told Scribe Hui that he planned to profit from factories in Japan while secretly poisoning the land and sea with industrial waste.
• Song Tianyao explained that Japanese partners and local governments would bear responsibility if the factories caused trouble, while his department stores would keep their reputations.
• Song Tianyao told Scribe Hui to act politely toward Japanese people and warned that Wei Meixian must cooperate or be replaced.
• Song Tianyao described discount supermarkets to Wei Meixian as stores offering ordinary people lower prices than small grocery shops.
• Song Tianyao explained that bulk cash purchases and promotions could draw customers in and drive grocery stores out of business.
• Song Tianyao advised keeping the supermarkets low-key, giving them Japanese-style names, and hiring Japanese workers.

Lam Kong told Yan Hung that A-Tai had gone to work for Lui Lok at Four Corners Pier, then refused Yan Hung’s attempts to learn more about the Police Officers’ Club. Yan Hung was left unable to finish explaining what he wanted from the club.

• Yan Hung explained that Lui Lok had secured Chen Tai’s release and hoped to earn a favor from Mr. Song or Yan Hung.
• Lam Kong asked whether Mr. Song knew A-Tai had gone with Lui Lok, and Yan Hung said he had not informed him because Mr. Song was in Japan.
• Yan Hung asked Lam Kong about the Police Officers’ Club, but Lam Kong declined to share information because they served different bosses.
• Lam Kong told Yan Hung that Mr. Song had established the club independently and would not let the Chu Family interfere, though he would help Yan Hung or Mr. Chu when needed.
• Yan Hung started to explain that Mr. Song should know something about his plans for the club, but stopped before finishing.

Song Tianyao’s plans for the Police Officers' Club put Lam Kong in position to challenge Yan Hung, who learned that his Mong Kok associates had been punished for human trafficking and ordered them to stop. In Macau, Song met Ho Hung-sang at Lin Fong Stadium, where Ho recalled the hardship China people faced during the war and Song asked about trouble with the oil refinery.

• Lam Kong warned Yan Hung that Mong Kok gang leaders were claiming Yan had a share in their human-smuggling business, then left the nightclub.
• Lam Kong told his men that they had sunk the gangsters who refused to pay and insisted that trafficking people would not be permitted on his turf.
• Yan Hung asked a Mong Kok Big Brother to turn his share into cash and deposit it in his wife's account, then told the man to stop the trafficking.
• Yan Hung learned that A Yue had taken his stepfather's surname and become Peng Yue, and sent a man to warn the smugglers to stop or leave Mong Kok.
• At Lin Fong Stadium, Ho Hung-sang described the wartime refuge reserved for Portuguese people and the suffering of China people outside.
• Song Tianyao asked Ho Hung-sang whether his recent trouble concerned the oil refinery.

Song Tianyao negotiated with Pedro Lobo over He Shiwen’s claim to the Soda Factory, while Lei Yingdong’s new ships let him capitalize on sharply rising freight rates to North Korea and Liaodong.

• Song Tianyao told Ho Hung-sang that Macau’s hostility and Feng Laorong’s pressure had forced Mr. He to withdraw his refinery shares, and that he might return to Hong Kong if his business failed.
• Pedro Lobo told Song Tianyao that the He Family wanted compensation for its role in helping the Hong Kong newspapers publish the news, and Song offered He Shiwen cash, land, or the Soda Factory for eight million Hong Kong dollars.
• Song Tianyao brushed aside Pedro Lobo’s warning about He Shiwen’s status and said he might go to Britain to get engaged and buy titles for his girlfriend.
• Lengzai admired the cargo aboard Lei Yingdong’s new freighter, and Lei Yingdong explained that he had spent most of his earnings buying and certifying two oceangoing ships.
• Lei Yingdong noted that freight rates to Liaodong and North Korea had soared to two hundred US dollars per ton, making even low-value cargo profitable to transport.

Lei Yingdong bought two freighters to profit from shipping embargoed goods to North Korea, while Zeng Chunsheng tried to rally Yu Shiting against him. Song Tianyao later learned that one of Lei Yingdong’s ships had sunk while golfing with MacIntosh.

• Lei Yingdong bought two loaded freighters and planned to run them for two months before selling them to Shanghai businessmen and taking his crew ashore.
• Zeng Chunsheng complained that Lei Yingdong had taken ships reserved by Wei Qing and urged Yu Shiting to help confront him.
• Yu Shiting refused to act against Lei Yingdong and told Zeng Chunsheng to let him make money.
• Zeng Chunsheng left Yu Shiting’s residence and muttered that he had already made other arrangements.
• Song Tianyao learned that one of Lei Yingdong’s ships had sunk while he was playing golf with MacIntosh.

After learning that Lei Danzi’s cargo ship had been sunk in the Taiwan Strait, Song Tianyao asked Huang Liu to investigate the attack and find his missing eldest uncle while preparing to travel to Britain with Angie Pellis. Lei Danzi later met He Xian, who offered to buy his remaining goods at a premium and lend him money.

• MacIntosh learned that a Hong Kong-registered cargo ship had been sunk, and Song Tianyao asked Nine-Tattooed Dragon to identify it and summon Brother Six.
• Song Tianyao arranged a banquet for Xiu'er’s school community before her baptism and planned a romantic evening with Angie Pellis ahead of their trip to Britain.
• Huang Liu reported that Lei Danzi’s medicine shipment had been sunk by a sea mine, while Lei Danzi had survived and was returning to Macau with his other ship.
• Song Tianyao told Huang Liu to investigate who had attacked Lei Danzi and to search for his missing eldest uncle.
• He Xian offered Lei Danzi a twenty percent markup for his remaining cargo and said he could lend him money.

Lei Yingdong returned to Hong Kong after He Xian’s men unloaded his remaining ship, while He Xian and Song Tianyao’s associates discussed the sinking and its possible consequences. Huang Liu warned Chu Xiaoxin to keep his distance from the Shanghai men, then returned to Song Tianyao’s villa and found Qi Weiwen and Gao Lao Cheng waiting outside.

• He Xian paid Lei Yingdong for the cargo and warned him that losses at sea were part of doing business, while Huang Ziya reported that A-Liu had returned to Hong Kong and Song Tianyao was in Britain.
• Lei Yingdong boarded the Xingye Hao, gave Lengzai the suitcase, and said he would find a way to avenge A-Mao and the others after they returned to Hong Kong.
• Huang Liu told Chu Xiaoxin that Song Tianyao believed he should keep his distance from the Shanghai men while the ship’s destruction was investigated.
• Chu Xiaoxin questioned why he should avoid suspicion, and Huang Liu said Song Tianyao would help Lei Yingdong.
• Huang Liu returned to Song Tianyao’s villa, where he found Qi Weiwen and Gao Lao Cheng waiting outside.

Gu Tiancheng’s friend Li Angju summoned him to Xiangshun Mahjong School because the police were staging a raid, while Gu remained focused on his work and a planned negotiation across the harbor. Gu entered the crowded casino to find Uncle Xiang and learn what was happening.

• Li Angju rushed to Kuixing Pavilion and told Gu Tiancheng that the police were staging a raid and Uncle Xiang wanted to see him.
• Gu Tiancheng dismissed Li Angju’s alarm, teased him about the newspapers on his chair, and left for Xiangshun Mahjong School with him.
• Gu Tiancheng and Li Angju passed through the school’s back entrance, where the lookouts told Gu to ask Uncle Xiang about the raid.
• Li Angju told the lookouts that Gu would treat the brothers to dinner after their shift and urged them to bring weapons.
• Gu Tiancheng walked through the crowded mahjong floor and hurried upstairs to the second floor.

Gu Tiancheng went to meet Smiling-Faced Xiang at Xiangshun Mahjong School while Li Angju courted the casino’s enforcers and arranged a dinner in Gu Tiancheng’s name. The chapter explained the casino’s thirteen tiers and ended with Gu Tiancheng entering the liaison’s room.

• Gu Tiancheng greeted Che Qi Shan, the leader of the casino’s patrolmen, and went upstairs to see Uncle Xiang.
• Li Angju gave cigarettes to Che Qi Shan and the other patrolmen, invited them to dinner, and thanked them for backing Gu Tiancheng.
• Che Qi Shan agreed to attend the dinner and promised the patrolmen would support Gu Tiancheng if talks with the Shek Tong Tsui group went badly.
• Gu Tiancheng entered the partitioned room where Smiling-Faced Xiang was listening to the radio.
• The chapter described the five upper tiers and the eight lower tiers of a major gambling den.

Gu Tiancheng learned that the police planned a raid on Smiling-Faced Xiang’s gambling den and was assigned to arrange a staged arrest and entertain the officers. After leaving Xiang, he told Lai Angju that Detective Chief Inspector Yan Hung would bring an assistant superintendent to put on a show.

• Smiling-Faced Xiang recalled Gu Tiancheng from his brief illness and explained that the police planned to raid the gambling den that afternoon.
• Gu Tiancheng suspected the raid was retaliation for the small shoulder-money payment given to a detective sergeant.
• Gu Tiancheng proposed reporting forty-nine thousand dollars in gambling money and volunteered to take the blame for the operation.
• Smiling-Faced Xiang assigned Gu Tiancheng to host the police and spend a thousand dollars from the cash room on entertaining them.
• Gu Tiancheng told Lai Angju that Yan Hung and a foreign assistant superintendent were coming to stage a raid.

Gu Tiancheng prepared Xiangshun Mahjong School for a staged police raid, arranging to clear its guests and move most of its gambling capital before the officers arrived. Yan Hung led the precisely timed raid, and the chapter ended as Gu Tiancheng went to greet him.

• Gu Tiancheng told Che Qi Shan how to compensate and clear the guests, then ordered the He Yong Yi men to leave forty thousand dollars and the accounts at the Yuehao Silver Vault while moving the rest to the Wanghao Silver Vault.
• Gu Tiancheng arranged the casino to look busy and unprepared, transferred the cash and accounts, and wrote a false account showing only forty thousand dollars in gambling capital.
• At five o'clock, Yan Hung led plainclothes and uniformed officers into Xiangshun Mahjong School and shouted that they were conducting a surprise raid on an illegal casino.
• The disguised He Yong Yi underlings obeyed the officers' commands, and Gu Tiancheng approached Yan Hung after the British policeman entered.

Song Chunzhong watched Gu Tiancheng help Yan Hung stage a police raid on the casino and became interested in meeting him. After the raid recovered the hidden gambling funds, Gu Tiancheng returned to a casino already operating at full capacity.

• Yan Hung and the police staged a raid, seizing gambling equipment, chips, and money while presenting the casino as an illegal gambling den.
• Gu Tiancheng interrupted a British assistant superintendent’s conversation by reporting hidden opium, then signaled Yan Hung that the casino’s vault still needed to be found.
• Yan Hung questioned the scapegoat boss, who revealed the vault, and the assistant superintendent seized forty thousand Hong Kong dollars and a ledger.
• The assistant superintendent escorted the boss and seized items to the station, while the uniformed officer who had nearly disrupted the scheme glared at Gu Tiancheng.
• Song Chunzhong watched Gu Tiancheng from a nearby fruit stall and decided he wanted to get to know him.
• After dark, Gu Tiancheng returned to find the casino’s three floors packed with gamblers again.

Gu Tiancheng prepared for a staged fight over Scout Fen while carrying out an errand for Smiling-Faced Xiang. He collected cash and a dagger, then left with twenty thousand dollars from the vault, leaving the confrontation at Fung Yu Restaurant pending.

• Li Angju asked Gu Tiancheng about the planned fight and offered to gather the gambling den’s men after their shifts.
• Gu Tiancheng told Li Angju to take the men to Fung Yu Restaurant and gave him a thousand dollars to cover the evening’s expenses.
• The chapter explained that Scout Fen, a member of the Mong Kok Twelve Golden Hairpins, had arranged for Gu Tiancheng and Handsome Keung to compete for her.
• Gu Tiancheng took Li Angju’s dagger and followed Smiling-Faced Xiang’s instructions to withdraw twenty thousand dollars from the vault.
• After the vault confirmed Smiling-Faced Xiang had authorized the withdrawal, Gu Tiancheng left with the cash.

Gu Tiancheng encountered Song Chunzhong, who offered him a way out of the gambling den and invited him to dinner under the name Xu Zhen. At a charity dinner, Lei Yingdong learned that Xu Pingsheng wanted to buy him a soda, while Chu Xiaoxin began the evening’s auction.

• Gu Tiancheng met Song Chunzhong, who said Gu had cost him more than two million Hong Kong dollars by disrupting his plan against Smiling-Faced Xiang’s casino.
• Song Chunzhong invited Gu Tiancheng to Lai Yuen 663 and told him to ask for Xu Zhen if he wanted to hear about a way out of his life as a Silver Head.
• Chu Xiaoxin told Lei Yingdong that Xu Pingsheng would buy him a soda at the charity dinner.
• Lei Yingdong reflected on the loss of his cargo ship and the Shanghai Shipping Gang’s influence over Hong Kong’s deep-sea shipping routes.
• Chu Xiaoxin explained the purpose of the charity dinner, and the host presented an oil painting donated by Lu Peiying as the first auction item.

Lei Yingdong bought Uncle Sheng’s soda for ten thousand dollars at auction and received directions to meet his eldest son, hoping to learn more about his sunken ship and dead crew. Meanwhile, Song Tianyao arrived in smog-shrouded London and looked out from his hotel suite.

• Lei Yingdong bid ten thousand dollars for the bottle of Yuen Chun soda, recognizing it as a message from Uncle Sheng.
• After the auction, Chu Xiaoxin gave Lei Yingdong a card directing him to room C2 on the seventh floor to meet Uncle Sheng’s eldest son.
• Huang Liu told Lei Yingdong to go ahead, saying his boss had instructed him to stay and that this showed where he stood.
• Chu Xiaoxin wondered whether Song Tianyao was helping Lei Yingdong to make contact with Uncle Sheng for his own purposes.
• Song Tianyao arrived in London and stood at his hotel window, unable to see the city through the heavy smog.

In smog-choked London, Song Tianyao saw a chance to gain renown by addressing the city's pollution, while Angie Pellis and Mrs. Bess made social connections. He wrote a detailed paper on smog and its causes and remedies, hoping it would raise his standing.

• Song Tianyao and Angie Pellis woke to London's heavy smog and discussed missing Hong Kong's sunshine.
• Song Tianyao read about London and considered using the smog problem to build a reputation and possibly improve his status.
• Mrs. Bess invited Song Tianyao and Angie Pellis to a hunting party and mentioned her acquaintance Sir Hugh Beaver, owner of Guinness Brewery.
• The weather stayed too poor for the hunting party, while Angie Pellis attended women's gatherings with Mrs. Bess.
• Song Tianyao wrote a detailed paper explaining the dangers and causes of smog and proposing ways to address it.